THE MINER'S REVERIE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2652, 11 January 1905, Page 63

THE MINER'S REVERIE.

The sea beats slow along the shore, And lingers in the sands, Where I would rest for evermore In these far southern lands. Soft sings the listless bre&ze of noon Across the ocean blue, And. catches from my lips the etune That I would sing to you. Afar I watoh the circling- gulls Beyond the grey cliff sides, Fluttering by the stranded hull 3 Of dead ships in the tides; 0 maiden with the starry eyes, That I had loved the last, Tho vision of the Present dies In pictures of the Past. And you are once again my queen, And there are few as fair ; 1 see you thro' the years between, Beside a white ship there, When echoes from the Land of Gold Had called my soul astray. . . . The great sea dragged you from my hold, And lost you in. the spray. And as we voyaged south for weeks, With reeling decks and spars, Kissing the north breeze from, my cheeks Sprang new winds from, the stars. And when we slipped ihe anchor chain Beyond the harbour mouth, Hope, youth, and love revived again My bright star of the south. • • • ■ » The light of years that mocked the sun Made golden stores my own, And yet I swore what I had wort Would be for you alone. - And then — they sent the letter here— Its borders ribbed in black. That you were with the angels, dear, And could not oall me back. Yet I have learned to love these islea Thai sleep upon the sea, — Smiling, they noijid me of the smiles Thai once I saw in thee ; I see you, -love of long ago, Beside the white ship there, And there are many maids, I know, But few that are as fair. — E. L. Exm. Auckand, December, 190£.